Many folks think of Ramona as that place on the way to Julian,
the picturesque mountain community 20 miles east, famous for its
apple pie and gold rush history. As they drive through Ramona, the
ruggedly independent foothill town, they see more country diners
than cappuccino shops, more vacant storefronts than vibrant
businesses.

"Today it's nothing more than a bedroom community," said Wayne
Channon, who has cut hair at his City Barber Shop on Ramona's Main
Street for 45 years. "There's nothing in the way of jobs."

That would change under blueprints developed over the past
decade by the county and a diverse collection of stakeholders.

The often-quiet Main Street in this community of 35,000 east of
Escondido would bustle with shoppers day and night, not just on
weekends, when travelers fill up on gas on their way to Julian.

Attractive town houses and offices would appear just off Main
Street, driving foot traffic to the mom-and-pop barber shops and
salons, thrift stores and florists. Perhaps they'd persuade others
to open in the many vacant storefronts that dot the street.

While Channon and others believe those long-term plans could
pump life into Ramona's core, others simply want the town to stay
small, rural and devoid of a city feel.

"We want it to be as rural as we possibly can be," said Matt
Deskovick, owner of the nearby Catt Farm and Ranch Supply and a
member of the town's planning group. Deskovick said he supports
growth downtown, but within reason.

"We don't want Ramona's Main Street to connect with Poway's Main
Street and have commercial the whole way," said the
T-shirt-and-jeans-clad Deskovick.

Other far-away blueprints, which carry their own controversy,
could siphon some of the business district's energy.

Those call for building a bypass south of Main Street, which is
the backcountry town's sole commercial corridor. It's also home to
a haphazard mix of Spanish, art deco and ranch-style architecture,
all within a few blocks.

Some in town are worried the bypass would harm Main Street
businesses. But local planners say it's needed to prevent more Main
Street gridlock. Congestion comes from shoppers and commuters and
the streams of tourists headed to Julian.

The two-lane roadway, which doubles as Highway 78 on its
northern stretch and Highway 67 farther south, becomes a bottleneck
nearly every rush hour, trapping commuters headed to job centers to
the west in Poway and south in San Diego.

Still, business and traffic concerns aren't the only worries in
Ramona, once known as the "Turkey Capital of the World" for its
sprawling turkey ranches.

Today, the loss of development rights is causing heartburn for
property owners on the outskirts of town.

Such "downzoning," as the loss is called, has been proposed by
county officials to limit the spread of development in the
backcountry's outlying areas.

Those plans, plus blueprints for Ramona's Main Street
improvements and the bypass, will be considered this fall as part
of the General Plan Update, the county's massive document that
attempts to balance the next generation of growth in its
unincorporated lands. The Board of Supervisors is expected to start
hearings on the update on Oct. 20.